They only come here to demolish our village

From Yanoun you used to be able to walk over the mountain for about 15
minutes to reach Khirbet Tana and from there an easy step to the
Jordan Valley. Khirbet is Arabic for a tiny hamlet, and indeed Tana is
tiny. It's where shepherds take their flocks for the winter. There are
three springs there. They can grow fodder for their sheep. And it is
idyllic. The people had built a little school for their 20 children to
attend whilst they live in this remote place for the winter. They
built structures to house the sheep during lambing, to protect the
small, vulnerable lambs from the cold and rain. They live in caves,
but also had erected tents for their growing families.
On Wednesday morning we received a message that Israeli soldiers had
ransacked the place, demolishing tents, animal shelters and the
school. Because there is an illegal Israeli settlement on the hill
between us and Tana it takes us over an hour, driving around to the
Nablus road, past Huwarra checkpoint, through Beit Furik and down 8
kilometres of unmade dirt road. The scene when we arrive is so
depressing. The headmaster stands beside the ruins of the school, next
to the 300 year old mosque, which, thank heavens, remains intact. An
old man sits with his head in his hands. People are in shock, even
though, we discover, this is the third time in two years this has
happened. Last January the school was demolished and it took them four
months to rebuild. The children were due to start school next month,
and now this. They will now have to do the 8k dirt road there and back
to Beit Furik every day.
The army inform the people that this is a military area, needed for
training. News to them, as they have used this land for over 100 years
and have the Turkish papers from Ottoman days to prove it. One man
says,"We never see the army here unless it is to demolish our houses!"
He is probably in his late 60s and he says his grandfather was killed
by a Turkish soldier during that occupation. Plus ca change.
During the winter 180 people live here with their 7000 sheep. There is
nowhere else they can live with so many animals.
The soldiers did their work between 6 and 7 in the morning. It is now
midday and already people have re-erected shelters and started
bringing in what supplies they can to rebuild. The grim determination
and stalwart nature of these people is inspiring. We sit and drink tea
with one family of three generations. Beside us is one destoryed tent,
together with the ruins of their corrugated iron toilet. We ask if
there will be help from the Palestinian Authority. One man says, "We
are waiting for the PA, just like we are waiting for the rain." They
laugh, it hasn't rained properly for almost 8 months.
I feel tired by now. We had a disturbed night. Security from nearby
Itamar settlement came by our house at midnight the night before and
we were treated to a rant by a 22 year old man with a large machine
gun about Arabs having 22 other countries and this land being Jewish
land and how Jews were being killed in Europe.
Usually the sight of these beautiful deserted hills, red-brown and
laced with limestone, would fill my heart with joy. But somehow I
can't find it in myself to feel this right now.